Saturday, June 22, 2013

Weekend Getaway @ Fig Tree Hill Resort, Penang

As I'd mentioned in my previous post, our whole family of 6+2 went for a weekend getaway at Fig Tree Hill Resort last December 2012. It's a relatively new resort in Penang itself, and I'd not heard of it until then. We got a good deal in Groupon for about 50% discount, and we liked that they have big and spacious villa which can accomodate up to about 6 people.

Fig Tree Hill Resort is situated in Sungai Ara, Penang; yet I've never heard of it. It is because it is nestled among the hills of Sungai Ara, hidden from the main roads.
We followed one of the staff sent to guide us there, and I was so surprised because we (we went in 3 cars) were guided to drive through the winding, really narrow roads, with the cliff just below at certain paths. I was so afraid my dad's MPV (which seems bigger than the path) is going to go off the track and into the cliff below.*shudder*

I was praying fervently that there were no oncoming cars (yes, it was a one way road!).
The drive is really not for the faint-hearted!
This is part of the path which is not so scary, as it is without the cliff drop on the sides of the path.

Shern was asking us "Are we going to the jungle? Will there be lions and tigers and elephants?" LOL. It certainly looked like we drove through the jungle! I really cannot imagine this is in Penang.
After what felt like an eternity (but it was actually about 15 mins later), we reached the extrance of Fig Tree Hill Resort!
This is the driveway of the resort.
Photo source: http://www.figtreehillresort.com

Fig Tree Hill sits on epic natural grounds with lush green valleys and tropical surroundings. The resort invested a tremendous amount of efforts to preserve the integrity of the valley, incorporating recycled structures and ensuring the facilities are as green as possible

It was really a lovely place. With 4 Villas nestled among the greens. It was very lush and very beautiful.
This was our villa - Cempaka Villa.
1 December 2012




This was the stairs leading up our villa, with the hanging fine roots from the tree. It was like a curtain draping the stairway. Very lovely.




Upon entering the main door, the mantelpiece was decorated with some Christmas deco, as it was Christmas month when we went.


Cempaka Villa was very spacious, about 2000 sq feet. It's Living Room was huge, with a gigantic C-shaped sofa.
Photo Source: http://www.figtreehillresort.com/villas.html

And they gave us so many pillows....like 30 of them, which I think was very nice of them. It makes the place so comfy, and everyone of us had a few pillows to hug. There was no need to fight over pillows like we always do when we stay in hotels.

And there was also a huge sofa bed with MORE pillows at the corner of the living room, just the perfect place to do some reading.



It was Shern's favourite place, and he already 'jom-ed' the place as his! lol.

The living room was very nicely decorated with antiques. Some were quite fragile looking. We had to keep an eye on Shern so that he did not go too near those breakables and start breaking things. I was sure we cannot afford to pay for them!
But these antiques on display was very nice and very suitable for the ambiance of the whole villa. Love it. Just that it was not a very kid-friendly place!


The deco is fully thought out, with much care. Even the air-cond units are being covered by wood, so that they don't stick out like they don't fit.

This was what the ceiling looks like.

Shern lying on the floor playing with his trains.

Shern totally feeling at home. He likes to put those pillows on the floor and sleep there, claiming that nook to be his place as well.

Little details were thought of, such as placing some biscuits and candies on the living room table, as snacks for us. I thought the candies tasted awful (though Shern thought otherwise!) but it was still a nice gesture. And a lovely pincones deco next to the tv.

There was even a Karaoke Set in our room, so we sang for hours for the 2 whole nights there. Even Shern joined in the fun, as we put some Children's Songs for him such as A,B,C,D, etc.

Shern enjoyed himself a lot, eating biscuits and candies and bread with Nutella. Heaven to him staying in the resort.


The rooms were beautiful.
This was one of the rooms. The queen-sized bed has a nice canopy drape, which served 2 purposes I think. One, as a very nice deco, and secondly, as a mosquito net. :)
Photo Source: http://www.figtreehillresort.com/villas.html

This was the second bedroom. Also with a queen-sized bed. Oh ya, the sheets were those luxurious satin-cotton type. Really comfy. And with lotsa pillows, one can never be not comfy, right?

Took a photo of me and Shern in front of the bedroom mirror. Sorry, blur photo. Damn iPhone for sucky photos in low lighting.


And the toilet was amazing. With a jacuzzi bath tub, and an outdoor rain shower (not shown in the photo). My only complain was that there was only one bathroom, which is not enough for all of us. Maybe because I am used to having at least two bathrooms at home.
http://www.figtreehillresort.com/villas.html

Just outsid ethe villa's main door, on the left there was a small seating place for some shaded relaxation.
Look at Daddy having a snooze there.

And on the right was the large dining table, where we were served breakfast every morning.
One of our breakfast served by the staff there. Eggs, Sausages, Hams, Bread, Fruits and Coffee. Simple American breakfast, but simply delish.
Two wooden giraffes overlooking the hills at the end of the dining table.

At the end of the dining table led to a very spacious Private Patio, my favourite place/nook.
This was also the place where I took Shern's photos on his bicycle in the previous blog post.
 


This Private Patio was really spacious, and it was overlooking the lush green hills which was really beautiful. We came out in the mornings for a walk and chat here and the air was really clean and nice and fresh. Totally couldn't imagine we were still in Penang Island!
Photo Source: http://www.figtreehillresort.com/villas.html


On the corner wooden tables, we saw some yellow moulds/shrooms in between the cracks, and I found them really lovely and full of nature.

We also took some photos here of my favourite place. This was a photo of us and Khye, who was only 2 1/2 months old. :)

And this was the outside windows of our villa. The resort dog was having a rest there as well. :)


Some of the wall panels of our villa. Totally heritage.




And then we also walked around the resort, and took some awesome photos of the other villas and the surrounding.

This was the lobby/main area, where there was a pond filled with Koi fishes. It was a lovely, serene place, listening to the water and birds and peace and calm of the surrounding.
Photo Source: http://www.figtreehillresort.com/villas.html

Overlooking from the top.

And this was the hut in the middle of the pond.
http://www.figtreehillresort.com/villas.html

We took some photos of us here.


This is the Pool area.
 

There was a bar next to it, but there was no one operating it. Too bad, for I would love to have some cocktails ;)

A view from the top overlooking the pool area.


 Shern and hubby doing some pouty, fat faces.

There was a mini gym there too.
Can you spot our cars parked there?
And also a tree house.
Ooohhh...love the lushness of greens here.

A photo of mum & Khye on the balcony of another villa.


Some of the architectures of the other villas. Really unique.





I have too many photos to upload all here in the blog.
But I have to say this was an amazing place.

What I really really like was that there was totally no line there. No Maxis, Digi, no 3G or even Edge/internet there. So no one in our whole family could be stuck using their tablets or their smart phones and facebook. All of us went internet-less and unreachable for the 3 days 2 nights there. It was awesome and totally family-bonding time!

My only complain is that they don't provide food (besides breakfast!). Which means if you want food, you need to drive out that scary narrow winding road again to get to Sungai Ara. And it is quite dangerous when it gets dark or if it rains, as we are not familiar with the roads here which has no street lamps.
I would prefer if they offer some simple menu for lunch/dinner. But they didn't, at the time when I went, that is.

So if you are planning to go, please buy some food there to last you if you don't plan to drive out. The place is too nice to leave just to buy food anyway!

Staff there were all nice and pleasant, and helpful, but yet discreet. So we had all the privacy we wanted.

Oh ya, and also the fact that this is not a really baby/kid-friendly place (with the precious antiques everywhere on high shelves). But that can't be blame.

But all in all, it was an amazing weekend getaway for us. And until now, Shern is still talking about Fig Tree Hill Resort, and how much he misses it!
I would definitely go back there again!
Totally recommending this place for some friends/family bonding sessions!

1 comment:

SJen said...

If they dun provide lunch and dinner..is they have kitchen available in the villa?

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